Support

A cookie is a piece of data stored by your browser or device that helps websites like this one recognize return visitors. We use cookies to give you the best experience on BNA.com. Some cookies are also necessary for the technical operation of our website. If you continue browsing, you agree to this site’s use of cookies.

Events

Bloomberg Next marketing services allow clients to elevate their brands and extend their reach through our established and trusted expertise, enhanced with engaging event production, appealing design, and compelling messaging.

July 12 — A
proposal to reduce Medicare's payments to hospital outpatient departments will increase costs
for other payers, an attorney told Bloomberg BNA July 12.

A group representing community oncology practices, however, applauded the move. Site-neutral
payments are needed so that services and procedures rendered at hospital outpatient
departments don't cost more than identical treatments performed in doctor-owned practices,
Debra Patt, a physician and the medical director for the US Oncology Network, said
July 12.

Section 603 of the Bipartisan Budget Act of 2015 required the site-neutral payment
policy. Under that policy, certain items and services provided by hospital off-campus
outpatient departments would no longer be paid under the hospital outpatient prospective
payment system beginning in 2017.

The statute attempts to equalize Medicare payment rates for hospital outpatient departments
and hospital-owned physician offices and was meant to address the practice of hospitals
acquiring physician offices and then billing patients under the outpatient prospective
payment system, which has higher reimbursement rates than the Medicare physician fee
schedule. The reimbursement changes would only apply to hospital-owned physician practices
acquired or opened since the date the law was signed—Nov. 2, 2015—that are located
farther than 250 yards from a hospital's main campus.

The Centers for Medicare &
Medicaid Services outlined the site-neutral payment plan its calendar 2017 hospital
outpatient prospective payment system proposed rule
(RIN:0938-AS82), which is scheduled for publication in the July 14 Federal Register
(130 HCDR, 7/7/16). Comments (CMS-1656-P) are due Sept. 6

Cost Shifts?

That's because the proposed rule makes it too difficult for hospital outpatient departments
to add services in response to marketplace changes, said Vernaglia, who represents
hospitals, health systems and academic medical centers.

Congress probably didn't intend for this, Vernaglia said. The CMS took an overly inflexible
view of the statute, because the proposal states grandfathered facilities need to
remain exactly in the condition they were before the law was signed, he told Bloomberg
BNA.

In the final rule, the CMS should loosen its interpretation of the statute to allow
hospital-owned outpatient facilities to add services or modify their structure, Vernaglia
said.

Vernaglia also noted that ultimately, the site-neutral proposal puts hospitals in
a bad position. Moreover, it won't actually lower the costs associated with running
a hospital outpatient department, he said. Instead, hospitals would simply shift costs
to others payers, such as commercial payers or individuals, because outpatient departments
are more costly to run than physician group practices, he said.

Also, if hospitals can't persuade other payers to absorb higher costs, they may decide
to close some off-campus outpatient departments or transfer them to a main hospital
campus site, Vernaglia said. Both options, he noted, would inconvenience Medicare
beneficiaries.

Doctor's Take

Taking a different stance, Patt said site-neutral payments are needed to counter consolidation
in the health-care marketplace. Hospitals buying community oncology practices have
increased costs to Medicare, she said.

For example, the portion of chemotherapy infusions being performed in generally more
expensive hospital outpatient settings increased by at least 30 percent from 2004
to 2014 with a corresponding reduction in the generally less expensive physician office
settings, Patt said, citing a 2014
report from the Community Oncology Alliance.

If the CMS doesn't proceed with the site-neutral policies it proposed, there would
be further consolidation within the provider marketplace and Medicare's costs would
continue to increase, she said.

Ultimately, the site-neutral payments are needed to ensure Medicare's integrity, she
said.

In addition to being the medical director of the US Oncology Network, Patt is also
the vice president of Texas Oncology, a provider group.

To contact the reporter on this story: Michael D. Williamson in Washington at
mwilliamson@bna.com

All Bloomberg BNA treatises are available on standing order, which ensures you will always receive the most current edition of the book or supplement of the title you have ordered from Bloomberg BNA’s book division. As soon as a new supplement or edition is published (usually annually) for a title you’ve previously purchased and requested to be placed on standing order, we’ll ship it to you to review for 30 days without any obligation. During this period, you can either (a) honor the invoice and receive a 5% discount (in addition to any other discounts you may qualify for) off the then-current price of the update, plus shipping and handling or (b) return the book(s), in which case, your invoice will be cancelled upon receipt of the book(s). Call us for a prepaid UPS label for your return. It’s as simple and easy as that. Most importantly, standing orders mean you will never have to worry about the timeliness of the information you’re relying on. And, you may discontinue standing orders at any time by contacting us at 1.800.960.1220 or by sending an email to books@bna.com.

Put me on standing order at a 5% discount off list price of all future updates, in addition to any other discounts I may quality for. (Returnable within 30 days.)

Notify me when updates are available (No standing order will be created).

This Bloomberg BNA report is available on standing order, which ensures you will all receive the latest edition. This report is updated annually and we will send you the latest edition once it has been published. By signing up for standing order you will never have to worry about the timeliness of the information you need. And, you may discontinue standing orders at any time by contacting us at 1.800.372.1033, option 5, or by sending us an email to research@bna.com.

Put me on standing order

Notify me when new releases are available (no standing order will be created)